A Christmas Carol: Five “Spirited” Seasons!

This is the fifth annual production of A Christmas Carol
at Chesapeake Shakespeare Company.

Written by our Founder and Artistic Director Ian Gallanar, and adapted from Charles Dickens’s beloved ghost story, our version is the classic with a Baltimore twist.

He adapted the play to celebrate our landmark theater home, an 1885 bank building that is on the National Register of Historic Places, which we renovated in 2014. The bank, at 202 E. German Street (now Redwood Street), had a counting room in the basement. Of course, we know what kind of enterprise was owned by Scrooge and Marley: a counting house. In this adaptation, Scrooge and the Cratchits live in Baltimore neighborhoods not far from the waterfront. In 2017, Ian stepped into Fezziwig’s costume to fill the role during our school matinees.

10 Tiny Tims: You read right: Not 5, but 10 kids have played the role during our five-year run.

We double-cast all our kids’ roles (because they perform on school nights, and they get the flu, and well … they’re kids…). Some are now too tall to be carried on Bob Cratchit’s shoulder. One plays football for his high school.

Here’s our Tiny Tim alumni club: (2014) John Rockefeller and Max Sullivan; (2015) Hal Kilpatrick and Gareth Swing; (2016) Ryan MacDonald and Gareth Swing; (2017) Vivian Klepper and Gabriel Hoch; (2018) Alice Chen and Xander. Some have grown into other roles. This year, Ryan is playing one of the older Cratchit children. Two kids played Tiny Tim with their very own real-life Dads as Bob Cratchit: Hal and Patrick Kilpatrick (shown here) and Max and Michael P. Sullivan.

Scott Small as Ghost of Jacob Marley (2014 and 2015). I wear the chains I forged in life.

Laura Rocklyn as Ghost of Christmas Past (2014, 2015, and 2016) Bear but a touch of my hand there and you shall be safe as we travel.

Daniel Flint as Ghost of Christmas Present (2014 and 2015). Will you decide which men shall live and which men shall die?

Elliott Kashner as Ghost of Christmas Yet-to-Come (2017 and 2018). Ghost of the Future! I fear you more than any specter I have seen.

Meet the Five-Show Veterans of A Christmas Carol

Gregory Burgessreturns for his fifth season as Ebenezer Scrooge. Burgess is a CSC Resident Acting Company Member and has performed in CSC’s productions of The Winter’s Tale, The Fantasticks, Richard III (2017 and 2012), Anne of the Thousand Days, Wild Oats, Titus Andronicus,The Importance of Being Earnest, A Midsummer Night’s Dream (2014 and 2010), As You Like It, The Merry Wives of Windsor, The Taming of the Shrew (2017 and 2013), and The Merchant of Venice, among many others. His training includes The Martin Blank Studio, The Shakespeare Theater, and Howard University.

Molly Moores returns this season in the role of Mrs. Cratchit. She has been married to five different Bob Cratchits, and has had 60 kids (if you count all the Cratchits in the casts of all five productions). Molly is also the Director of Young Performers, who call her “Stage Mom.” Molly is a CSC Resident Acting Company Member and CSC Teaching Artist. She has performed with CSC in A Midsummer Night’s Dream (2018, 2011), The Winter’s Tale (2018), A Christmas Carol (2014-2017), Julius Caesar, Romeo and Juliet (2012, 2015-2017), Anne of the Thousand Days, The Three Musketeers, Macbeth, Richard II, The Taming of the Shrew (2013), Antony and Cleopatra, Pride and Prejudice, and The Merchant of Venice.

Kate Fortonhas had many roles in this production over the years, including Assistant Stage Manager (2014) and dance captain (2015-2017). She took on the role of Mrs. Dilber in 2015 and 2016 productions. For two years, Kate’s been drinking too much eggnog as Caroline, and rejoicing over her cleared debt as Mrs. Jones. Also, this will be her forth year as Marian singing the Coventry Carol to the watermen. Kate is a CSC Associate Company Member. She has performed in several productions with CSC, including A Midsummer Night’s Dream (2018), A Christmas Carol (2017, 2016, 2015), The Taming of the Shrew (2017), Richard III (2017), Anne of the Thousand Days, Titus Andronicus (2015), The Comedy of Errors (2015), Richard II, and As You Like It (2014). Other recent credits include NEW YORK and Company with Just Off Broadway.

Mia Boydston, one of our youth performers, has worked in all five productions. She has appeared as Fanny (2014 and 2015), Want (2014), and Martha Cratchit (2016-present). What a treat it has been to watch her grow up.

Daniel O’Brien, CSC’s Technical Director, is A Christmas Carol‘s Technical Director, Scenic Designer, Lighting and Projections Designer, Special Effects and Snow Master. He created the rowhouse set for A Christmas Carol and builds it each year. He has been the magician behind the snowfall, making and mixing just the right blend of shredded ingredients to sparkle as it flutters to the ground.

Kristina Lambdin, CSC’s Resident Costume Designer, is going five years strong as the award-winning Costume Designer of A Christmas Carol (Broadway World, Best Costume Design). That’s more than 300 costumes for this production over the past five years: The original costumes have been tailored again and again for the changing cast members. Each year, a few new characters have been added to the play, requiring new designs.

Nellie K. Glover, CSC’s Resident Dance Choreographer, created the memorable Fezziwig Dance, “Fum, Fum, Fum” Dance, and the finale. She returns each year to coach the new cast through the steps.

Mindy Braden has been the Wardrobe Supervisor all five years, making sure performers have all of their Victorian-period costume pieces at the ready. She has assisting them with quick changes (we estimate there have been more than 1,000 changes). She also does the laundry and has had more than 750 shirts to iron. She is a member of CSC’s Resident Technical and Design Company.

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